Circular knitting machine



B. F. COILE CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE April 23, 1946.

2 Sheets-Shet 1 Filed Sept. 23, 1943 ZEMJAMm Hum-m emu-e INVENTOR A RNEYApril .5- B. F. COILE CIRCULAR KNITIIfiG MACHINE Filed Sept. 23, 194s 2Sheets-Sheet 2 RIB BENJAMIN FRANKLIN cone INVENTOR BY ,Qk 47 A QRNEYPatented Apr. 23, 1 946 CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE Benjamin FranklinCoile, Athens, Ga., assignor to Fidelity Machine Company, Inc.,Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application September23, 1943, Serial No. 503,4 77

7 Claims.

The invention relates to improvements in circular knitting machines ofthe type comprising a set of cylinder needles and a set of dial needles,and more particularly to novel means employed on the machine foreffecting the knitting of true rib fabric, and which also permits theautomatic transfer of the knitting from the dial needles to the cylinderneedles, after the rib fabric has been completed. Y

The principal object of the invention is to provide means cooperatingwith the dial needles of a circular knitting machine for effecting theeflicient knitting of true rib fabric, and which means will eliminatethe use of take-up weights in the machine to tension theweb and to holdit on the dial needles.

A further object is to provide, in lieu of the, customary take-up weightmechanism on a circular knitting machine, presser devices which areadapted to cooperate with latches of the dial needles to hold the threaddown on said needles,

A further object is to provide a dial needle construction for circularknitting machine wherein the dial needles are formed straight instead ofbent'in shape, and so that said needleswill always be maintained in truealignment with the cylinder needles when the stitches of the knittingare transferred to said cylinder needles.

A further object is to provide novel presser devices which cooperatewith the dial needles of a circular knitting machine and function tofrictionally hold said needles in their dial slots.

A further object is to provide means on a circular knitting machine forknitting a true rib fabric with latch needles in the vertical cylinderand in the horizontal dial of the machine.

Other objects of the invention will appear more fully hereinafter.

Although the novel features of the invention will be particularlypointed out in the appended claims, the invention itself, as to itsobjects and advantages, may be better understood by referring to thefollowing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawingsforming a part hereof and in which:

Figure 1 is a side view of a presser device used needle;

which is to be -transferred to a Figure 4 is a similar view through thedial of the machine and showing the loop of thread about to betransferred to the vertical cylinder needle which is indicated in itsupward position;

Figure 5 is a similar view through the dial of the machine and showingthe dial needle retracted and the vertical cylinder needle movingdownwardly and engaging the loop of thread which hasbeen transferred toit from the dial needle;

Figure 6 is a top plan view of the dial needle,

presser device and the vertical cylinder needle,

asit appears in Figure 4;

Figure 7 is an underside view of the dial cam plate and indicates thetravel of the dial needles and presser butts while the machine isknitting inside rib;

Figure 8 is a similar view showing the travel of the butts of the needleand presserwhen certain of the dial cams are lowered to push the dialneedle in position to transfer the stitch on to the vertical cylinderneedles also to put the dial needles and pressers back into a neutralposiin conjunction with the dial needles in carrying .dle being showncarrying a loop of the thread Figure 9 is a similar view and shows thetravel of the dial needle and presser butts when said dial needles areoperating at a neutral position with certain of the cams raised and onecam moved to a neutral position;

Figure 10 is a developed view of the cylinder cam box and indicates thetravel of the vertical cylinder needles when knitting in the rib fabric;and

Figure 11 is a similar view and indicates the travel of the verticalcylinder needles when knitting plain knit work.

The present invention provides a novel means which simplifies and makesmore efficient in operation the mechanism of circular knitting machinesdesigned to knit true rib fabric.

The construction and operating characteristics of circular knittingmachines are so well known in the art that it is deemed unnecessary toillustrate the entire mechanism, nor to describe it in detail herein.For the purpose of understanding the present invention it is suificientto say that a circular knitting machine for knitting a true rib fabricto which it is applied includes the usual mechanism present in such amachine, such as a cylinder; a dial construction; a' set of cylinderneedles; a set of dial needles; and means for feeding yarn to theneedles. The cylinder of the machine would have the usual verticalcylinder grooves for receiving the cylinder needles and the dial wouldinclude the usual dial bed keyed to a drive shaft arranged concentric tothe cylinder. Also, of course, the dial would be. provided with radialgrooves within which the dial latch needles would be reciprocablyslidable. Also, as is well known, the dial needles are not operativeupon the knitting yarn during the knitting of plain fabric which isaccomplished solely or almost wholly upon the cylinder needles. However,during the rib knitting of the seamless fabric the alternate cylinderneedles are elevated into position to take the knitting in the groovesof the cylinder. V

In previous types of circularknitting machines for knitting true ribfabric, the: mechanism thereof almost universally includes a web take-upattachment employing take-up weights which function to tension the webduring the knitting and also to remove the stitch from the vertical andhorizontal needles during the knitting of the rib fabric. Another typeweb take-up also is used in these machines. there is provided fins whichproject below the hook and cast off slots. These fins function to takeoil the work from the hooks and cast oils and this is accomplished byplacing the sinkers in the machine with one plain and one saw toothedsinker. In operation the fin on the dial drops down on the top of theplain sinker and the saw tooth sinker then protrudes up in the slot ofthe dial and the teeth thereof will hook the thread and then the sinkeris pressed in by a cam, This action places a pressure on the stitch topull it 011 the hook. In view of the fact that the saw tooth sinker isonly .006 to .010 of an inch thick, if there is any weak place in theyarn, or if the teeth of the sinker have become nicked, it will resultin a hole being cut and when this occurs the following stitch will havenothing to pull it from the hook for, as a general rule, the machinesare set up with approximately three stitches between the hook of theneedle and the toothon the sinker. Furthermore, when a hole is thusproduced the tension of the web is released and this causes thefollowing stitches to pile up on the needles, and ii. the stop motionfails to stop the machine immediately it results in a smashing up of themachine.

It is the main object of the present invention,

in addition to its purpose of simplifying the .mechanism of the machineas a whole, to eliminate these faults in a machine for knitting rib Ifabric.

In carrying out the objects of my invention I utilize the usual type ofdial as employed on a circular knitting machine, However, said dial istioned fins which protrude between the sinkers are eliminated. I alsoutilize the plain sinkers as employed with this type of machine, and Idispense with the use of the take-up weights to tension the web and holdit on the dial needles.

In accordance with the invention I accomplish the purposes intendedprincipally by using a presser device which is indicated at I, inFigures At the bottom of the dial as is the usual practice, and hencesaid needles can then be maintained in better alignment with thevertical cylinder needles in effecting the transfer of the stitches fromthe same to the said vertical cylinder needles. The straight shape ofthe dial needle 2, and the bent shape of the presser device I, when theyare associated with each other, is clearly shown in Figure 6. Thepresser device and needle when assembled in the dial slot is shown inFigures 3, 4 and 5, the dial bed being shown at 3.

It will also be noted by reference to Figures 1 to 5, that the presserdevice is formed with a hooked or projecting finger portion at its outerend generally indicated by the numeral 4 which is adapted to hold downthe thread and to force it to pass under the latch 5 of the dial needle2 during the knitting operation, as will be explained later. The hookorilnger d at the outer end of the presser device I is formed byundercutting said device and forming a notch N defined by a horizontaledge portion 4 and an upright or vertical edge forming a shoulder S. Thefinger 4 is adapted to overlie a loop or thread on the dial needle 2during a given stage of knitting, as illustrated in Figure 4. The end ofthe finger 4 terminates in a downwardly and inward- I ly inclined face 4extending from the upper edge made plain under the bottom and the abovemender 4.

of the presser device I to the horizontal wall portion 4. Thesingularity or inclination of the face 6 is such that the end of thelatch 5, in swinging from the position shown in Figure 3 to that shownin Figure 4, clears the same sufficiently to allow the loop on theneedle 2 to pass from the latch to a position under the finger d. Theinclination of the face d is also such as to aid in directing the loopinto a position under the finger 4. The shoulder d limits inwardmovement of the loop on the dial needle 2. It will be particularly notedfrom Figure 4 that the edge portion 4 of the finger 4 lies inapproximately the same horizontal plane as the free end of the fullyopen latch 5, so that when the loop is later removed from the dialneedle 2 by the cylinder needle 6, it must move outwardly under thefinger 4 and engage-the underside of the latch 5, in

stead of being snagged on the point of said latch or passing over thelatch and getting caught on the hook of the dial needle 2, as frequentlyoccurs in conventional knitting machines. It will be still further notedthat the presser device I includes a second bevelled portion 4 whichextends downwardly and inwardly from the shoul-' The object of'the bevel4 is to provide clearance that will eliminate any tendency of the threador yarn, when it assumes a position corresponding to that shown inFigure 4, to enter the spac between the adjacent faces of the presserdevice I and the dial needle 2 and being "pinched" therebetween, or fromcatching on the lower outer corner of the presser device I (as would bethe case if the bevel A were omitted and the presser device I was formedwith a right angular corner at this point).

In Figures 3, 4'and 5 there is illustrated the operation of the dialneedles 2, and the presser device I, as the dial needle transfers astitch to the vertical cylinder needles. From these figures it will beseen that in Figure 3 the dial needle is carrying a loop of thread whichis to be transferred to a vertical cylinder needle, the verticalcylinder needle,indicated at 6, being shown in its down position. InFigure 4, the dial needle 2 has moved outwardly and the loop of threadthereon has been deposited under the hook poraecaooa tion 4 of thepresser device as the vertical cylinder needle has been raised to itsupward position. its original receded position and the vertical cylinderneedle has moved to its downward position carrying the loop of threadtransferred to it'from the dial needle.

For a complete understanding of the operation of the dial needles,pressers, and the dial cam mechanism, used in carrying out the objectsof my invention, reference is now made to Figures '7, 8 and 9 of thedrawings.

In Figure 9 I have shown the travel of the dial needle and presserbutts, when .the dial needles are running at a neutral position withcams 8,

In Figure 5, the dial needle is shown in 9 and I raised and camnumbered. ll moved to I a neutral position.

In Figure 7 there is shown the needle and presser butts while themachine is knitting. inside rib, and showing cam l0 lowered to passneedles 7 into the upper race, putting them into position to pass overcam l l which is shown raised to shed the stitch, and also to, pick upthe yarn on the hook of the needle. 1 After the yarn is laid in the hookof the dia needle the former stitch is passed behind the latch and underthe presser as shown in Figure 4, and the needle is drawn in by camnumbered l2, shown in Figure 9. The point of this cam. indicated at I2,is timed with cam point indicated at l 2 in Figure 11, by the method ofsetting these two stitch points, Iii being the dial needle stitch castoff point, and I2 the vertical cylinder needle stitch cast off point.This will effect the regulation of the amount of yarn drawn by the twoneedies. 1 In Figure 8, there is indicated the travel of the dial needleand presser butts when cams 8 and 9 are lowered, pushing the dial needlein position to transfer the stitch onto the vertical cylinder needle,also to put needles and pressers back cated at It in Figure 6), and atthis point the vertical cylinder needle 6 is pushed up through thestitch. At this point in the operation the presser" l is very essential,as it prevents the vertical cylinder needle 6, if from some cause it hasbeen thrown out of line, from catching the yarn and pushing it high andcausing it to pass over the latch 5, of the dial needle. and catchingthe hook of said needle. If this should happen it would cause themachine to hold on to the stitch, and a loading up would occur which inturn would cause a smashup in operation.

In Figures 10 and 11 there is shown a development of the cam box of themachine in which my invention is employed, and indicates the usual camsordinarily used in a circular knitting machine, such as the stitch camsl4 and IS, the side cams I6 and ll, the top center cam l8, the bottomcenter cam I9, and the cam 20. I

In Figure 11 the cam box shows all of the usual cams with the exceptionof cam 20 which has been changed from a stationary cam to a floatingcam;

The dotted lines in this figure show the travel of the vertical cylinderneedles when they are knitting plain knit work.

Figure 10 illustrates the travel of the vertical cylinder needles whenthey are knitting in the rib fabric'and shows said needles pushed up byJacks when passing over cam 2i, and certain of the needles, where theJacks and cam 20 have been removed, passing under cam II. This preventsthe vertical cylinder needles without Jacks from raising over the cam l5and taking on yarn, these uniacked needles being replaced at this stageof the operation by the horizontal dial nee- By means of the presentinvention above described, .a method is provided: for making a true ribfabric on a circular footer knitting machine with a method forautomatically transferring from the dial needles to the cylinder needlesafter completing the rib fabric. .The true rib fabric is knit with latchneedles in the vertical cylinder and in the horizontal'dial, and this isaccom-- plished by reason of the use of the presser device l,above-described. By utilizing the means described in the specificationthe knitting of true rib fabric may be accomplished without the use ofthe customary take-up weights totension the thread and to hold it on thedial needles. As will be noted from the description and drawings, thepresser device used in conjunction with the dial needle, prevents thevertical cylinder needle from catching the yarn and raising it over thelatch of the dial needle, or from catching on the end of the latch andthereby it prevents loading up of the yarn on the dial needle whicheventually would cause a smashup necessitating the loss of considerabletime in getting the machine back into production. Furthermore, thepresser members function to hold the dial needles/in their slots, andthis permits said dial needles to be made straight instead of bent, asin the past. This gives better alignment of the dial needles with thecylinder needles during the knitting process. Also, the inventionsimplifies the mechanism of the machine and increases its efilciency inoperation.

While the improvement I have made has been described for use on amachine for knitting true rib fabric, it is adaptable for use on mostany other standard make circular knitting machine.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a circular knitting machine having latched cylinder needles and aslotted dial, latch needles in the slots of said dial, presser membersin the same slots with each dial needle for frictionally holding orretarding the movement of said needles in said slots, said pressermembers being provided with fingers at their outer ends for holding downthe loops of the yarn being knitted so that auxiliary tensioning meansfor the fabric is not required.

2. In a circular knitting machine having cylinder needles and a slotteddial, latch needles in the slots of said dial, and a presser device inthe same slot with each dial needle for frictionally holding orretarding movement of said needles in said slots, said presser devicehaving its outer end terminating in a projecting finger and an uprightshoulder spaced inwardly from the end of said finger which is adapted tooverlie a loop on a dial needle to hold the same down during transfer toa cylinder needle.

3. In a circular knitting machine the combination of a cylinder, needlesoperating in said cylinder, a slotted dial, latch needles operating inthe slots of said dial, a presser device in the same slot with each ofthe dial needles and slidable in said slot alongside and independentlyof its corresponding needle in a path substantially parallel with thatof the needle, said presser devices frictionally holding said needles insaid slots and each formed with a finger at its outer end for overlyinga loop of yarn on a dial needle and holding it down during the time ofits transfer, to a. cylinder needle.

4. In a circular knitting machine having cylinder needles and a slotteddial, a latch needle in each of the slots of said dial, and a presserdevice in the same slot with each dial needle, each of the needles andpresser devices having operating butts whereby movement thereof inpredetermined relative relation may be effected, each of said presserdevices having its outer end terminating at a point slightly inwardly ofthe free end of the latch when said latch is in its full open position,and being undercut to provide a projecting finger and shoulder with thelower edge of said finger lying in approximately the same plane as thefree end of said fully open latch, whereby a loop on said dial needle isprevented by said finger from being raised by the cylinder needlesduring transfer to such height as to snag on the end of said latch oroverride said latch and catch on the hook of said dial needle as saidcylinder needle pulls said loop off said dial needle.

5. In a circular knitting machine having cylinder needles and a slotteddial, a latch needle in each slot of said dial, and a presser device inthe same slot with each dial needle, each of the needles and presserdevices having operating butts whereby movement thereof in predeterminedrelative relation may be effected, each of said presser devices beingslightly bowed in shape to frictionally hold its corresponding needle inthe dial slot and having its outer end terminating at a point slightlyinwardly of the free end of the latch when said latch is in its fullopen position, and being undercut to provide a projecting finger andshoulder with the lower edge of said finger lying in approximately thesame plane as the free end of said fully open lacth, whereby a loop onsaid dial needle is prevented by said finger from being raised by thecylinder needles during transfer to such height as to snag on the hookof said dial needle as said cylinder needle pulls said loop oil saiddial.

6. A device for use with a dial needle of a circular knitting machine,comprising a strip of metal slightly bowed in shape to frictionally holdthe needle in the dial of the machine and being undercut at one endthereof to provide a projecting finger and an upright shoulder spacedinwardly from the end of said finger, said projecting finger beingadapted to overlie a loop on a dial needle to hold the same down duringtransfer to a cylinder needle, and said shoulder being adapted to serveto limit inward movement of said loop on said dial needle.

7. A presser device for use with a dial needle of a circular knittingmachine, comprising a bowed strip of metal undercut at one end thereofto provide a projecting finger having an inclined face and an uprightshoulder spaced inwardly from the end of said finger, and a bevelextending downwardly and inwardly from said shoulder, said projectingfinger being adapted to overlie a loop on a dial needle to hold the samedown during transfer by a cylinder needle, said shoulder being adaptedto serve to limit inward movement of said loop on said dial needle, andsaid downwardly extending bevel from said shoulder being adapted toprevent the yarn of the loop from entering the space between theadjacent faces of the presser device and the dial needle and beingpinched therebetween.

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN COlLE.

